Author – Sanjana Sandeep
“…I also believe that introversion is my greatest strength. I have such a strong inner life that I’m never bored and only occasionally lonely. No matter what mayhem is happening around me, I know I can always turn inward.”
-Susan Cain
Very often, growing up with a more confident and extroverted sibling which is quite opposite to your personality, is not easy. You are termed as the “shy one”. This comparison, which constantly remains by your side is no good to your self-esteem.
Normally, introversion is strongly discouraged by the society as it is negatively received. I am told that my way of being more withdrawn from social situations is not necessarily the right way to go. But it is probably only the introvert who understands how his or her mind functions. Introverts need time to grow and reflect. We do not speak just to fill the silence, and it is only done after a lot of thinking. On the contrary, indulging in small talk that interests us completely, would require a lot of effort to shut us up, once we are in the drift. Although it does come with a negative sometimes, as we do not excel in the art of starting a conversation.
Everyone is always in the process of creating themselves, as we try our best to project at being someone that we have always been anxious about. But when this brims to the level of consciousness, we realize that trying to be evasive from one’s true existence or one’s own element can be quite frightful. For me, it has taken nineteen years to fully appreciate the benefits and accept this trait of mine. Not that I sat and thought about it the whole time, but what I am trying to say is that, It’s OK to be an introvert! You are not anti-social or depressed as most people would assume.
Nobody is 100% introverted or 100% extroverted, you could bump into such a person only at the mental hospital. Either you are an introverted extrovert or an extroverted introvert, meaning that you tend to lean more onto one of the sides.
Being painfully shy is synonymous to being an introvert, is a common myth that must be broken. Introversion is not the same as being shy. Only that, the shier introverts are much easier to spot.
One very interesting fun fact is that one in every two persons is an introvert, which is half of the population. Bottom line- we are not excluded; but every now and then, we just want to be secluded for some time so that when we join the fray, we do give a productive output.
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